Chronicling Walt Disney World’s Infinite Variety

Sometimes a first love lasts a lifetime
Take Lou Mongello. He lost his heart to Walt Disney World in 1971, at age three, just a month after the park opened. He went back as often as first his parents, then college, then law school, then his high-tech business ventures allowed. On each visit he devoured Disney lore and legend with the zeal of a true believer.

But it wasn’t until Mongello decided to share his knowledge of Walt Disney World® Resort (WDW) with others that his obsession began keeping him up till the wee hours night after night.

Mongello brought an attorney’s analytical mind and a computer programmer’s way with databases to the task of writing and cataloging thousands of multiple-choice trivia questions about his favorite place. He then distilled the best questions into The Walt Disney World Trivia Book (The Intrepid Traveler, $14.95), a compendium that tests the reader’s knowledge of the theme parks and resorts. In the process, Mongello reveals WDW secrets and little-known facts that he thinks will appeal to casual visitors and Disney fanatics alike.

“I find the more I learn about how Disney creates its wonderful effects and the extraordinary efforts they go through to make WDW so special, the more magical it becomes for me,” says Mongello.

“For example, most visitors don’t know that almost everything they see at WDW has a detailed story behind it that gives it meaning. They may also miss the incredible details and small touches — like the talking trash cans and the hidden Mickeys — that make Walt Disney World such a very special place. And few guests ever think about the behind-the-scenes facilities and operations that keep Walt Disney World running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.”

Mongello’s book tests readers knowledge of old attractions as well as the current ones. So fans who miss “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” or were never able to experience “Horizons” firsthand, for example, can stay in touch or get better acquainted with them through his questions and answers.

Mongello’s Mickey mania extends to all facets of his life. He likes to remind anyone who’ll listen that his daughter Marion not only shares Mickey’s initials but was serendipitously born on Mickey’s birthday, November 18.

Even the most fanatic WDW fans are likely to find new nuggets of information in The Walt Disney World Trivia Book. And newcomers to the Disney magic will be enchanted by the information Mongello reveals. His questions cover each of the four theme parks, the resort hotels and restaurants, Downtown Disney, the monorail, and the water parks. In the answers, he expands on the topic at hand, filling in the fascinating history and little known lore that lies behind so much within Walt Disney World.

So, what’s next for the enterprising Mongello?

“I’m going to Disney World,” he replies laughingly, in an echo of the old advertising slogan. “There’s a lot more to see and more trivia questions to write. I think it was Cleopatra whom Shakespeare had in mind when he wrote ‘age cannot wither nor custom stale her infinite variety.'”